Nina Conti

Of course I wouldn’t feel so snoozy if there was some mirth emanating from the murk. I’m not saying that the efforts of Anil Desai, Seann Walsh and Nina Conti went unappreciated but they were all made uncertain and stymied to some extent by the conceit.  

Seann Walsh attempted to get around the ‘rules’ by bringing a torch and going all Blair Witch on us but couldn’t use that ruse for too long as the torch was so bright and uncomfortable for the audience. Desai’s impressions are 90 per cent vocal gags, of course, and went unaffected by the premise of the show although he, like Walsh, was distracted and not at full power in his set.  

Conti, meanwhile, was pretty much business as usual and managed to riff on the situation with her grandmother character remarking that was much like any other gig to her, given that she was a puppet.  

Despite my black mark against this show I would go again if the venue was a more atmospheric, in-the-round, space and where acts were trying out material more tailored to the premise. Once more, with a sense of occasion would be the advice.